Marc digested all Caitlin had said. “Not only was he white, he was left-handed. Those are two huge recalls. Only one out of every ten white males is left-handed. You’ve just helped us narrow down the search significantly.”
She blew out a relieved breath. “Thank God. Now what?”
Marc glanced from Aidan to Terri, waiting to see if they had more questions they needed answered. He wasn’t surprised to see that Terri had leaned forward and was busily typing on her own computer.
Pausing, she said, “Caitlin, in many ways my skill set mirrors Ryan’s, and yours. From what Ryan conveyed to me, you developed a new security operations screening process—an untried approach to penetration testing.”
“I did. I’m sure Ryan also told you that I tested it out on Scott Security to see if the company systems were vulnerable. I wish I’d never done that. If I hadn’t, Shane would be alive today.”
Compassion flashed in Terri’s eyes. “I understand. So let’s get him the justice he deserves and end Charles Scott’s career and his freedom.”
A hard nod.
“You accidentally stumbled onto the dark side of Scott Security,” Terri continued. “I need to follow this through. Can you help me determine the best way to hack into the dark side of their database? I’m quite sure they’re deleting compromising information. I need to look for old backups.”
Caitlin looked thoughtful as her mind raced through the scenario. “I think so.” She went on to supply Terri with a complex explanation that seemed to make sense to her.
It made sense to Terri, as well.
“That’s just what I was looking for,” she said. “And I’ll follow through on it to extract what I need.”
“I hope it works,” Caitlin said.
“I’ll make it work.”
Caitlin looked from Terri to Aidan to Marc. “How else can I help you?”
“We’re good for now,” Aidan told her. “I’m sure you’ll be hearing from us as the need for more information arises.”
The mother in Caitlin kicked in again, and her hands gripped the table in front of her. “Wait. Do you have a sense of how long this will take?”
Again, Marc and Aidan exchanged glances. “Not yet,” Marc replied frankly. “We have a fair amount of territory to cover.”
“But we work fast,” Aidan said. “Trust us. You’ll soon be reunited with Kennedy, the threat to your lives will be over, and Shane’s killer will be dealt with—as will Charles Scott.”
25
Casey and Hutch’s Apartment
Battery Park City
Manhattan, New York
Monday, March 20, 5:05 p.m.
Hutch’s command-and-control voice boomed out, bouncing off the walls of the bedroom. “Don’t even think about it.”
Startled, Casey paused in her efforts to wriggle her way to the edge of the bed.
She froze, a guilty look crossing her face.
“There’s no need to blow me away. You scared the hell out of me,” she told her husband, who was hovering in the open doorway.
“The important thing is that I stopped you.”
Casey squinted at the wall clock. “It’s early. Why are you home? And where’s Sophia?” She was referring to Sophia Ramirez, the lovely, experienced nurse Hutch had hired to take care of her.
Hutch folded his arms across his chest. “I left early and brought work home. I gave Sophia the evening off. I took over. Now, where was it you were headed?”
